Is their a way of finding out? The letters on the assassins bodies never says.

No one did. It's just a random encounter that stops if you join or destroy them.

I still have the assassins even though my toon has wiped out the DB.

damn. ah well thanks

I didn't realize that. Here I've been wondering what my character did to provoke those attacks since they began back in December, lol. Thanks for the info.

I think it's triggered my a level mark. 15 maybe?

Anyone know?

My latest toon, a Khajiit, has had both DB assassins and Thalmor as well - since level 6 I *think* - maybe 5.... EARLY anyway....

And my level 39 mage hasn't had either encounter, ever.

Propably a glitch, they stopped for me.


Well that's more like an educated guess. They always spawn at the random encounter locations, and there is no hints to who it might be, even at their hideout if you choose to kill them. Hell, Astrid doesn't even seem to be aware she sent assassins after you

good loot off them. Im always happy to see one of those.

Gotta love the complete randomness of this game!

There is no way to know, as they don't have the client name on the note.

I love how the assassin always trys to be sneaky, one time I was running down the road and here she comes right down the road in broad daylight sneaking....lol. I shot her in the head with an iron arrow and toke whatever she had.

I know Sven can send an assassin after you, if you side with Faendal during the love triangle quest. So maybe that's the one? I'm not 100% sure he does it all the time, but I've had it in three different games now.

Besides that I really don't know.

Not sure if this should be on the spoiler board. I'd say so, but this one seems iffy.

Edit: I was the one on the wrong board xD

I had a theory that it happens after killing a skooma dealer. But after carefully avoiding them I still had the assassins after me, so it must be a level-related thing. Curiously, since the letter says that the black sacrament had been performed, I've found only one unexplained ritual site: Maven Blackbriar's basemant. The assassins stop chasing me down once I joined the DB.

i was pretty convinced it happens after you commit a crime. Perhaps stealing in particular.

Think about it from the perspective of game design: Player steals something... OK Player is a thief, let's get them involved with the thieves guild where they'll fit right in.


Do you steal things? Take a look at your crime statistics if you get a chance, and let us know!

I think you have to be discovered during a crime or bribe guards to get hired thugs.

For murder you need some kind of relative to survive or do a certain kind of quest, Talking to Esbern before the MQ guides you here apparantly can make you a target.. at least according to http://uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim_talk:Dark_Brotherhood_Assassin%27s_Note.

Haven't looked at the stats but yeah I've stolen, and I've been caught.

One thing that's different about this mage is I haven't done any of the MQ. As soon as I got to the mage stone to pick it I took off and ignored everything else MQ related. My assassin also ignored the MQ and never had DB after her either, maybe the trigger is in the MQ.

Not for me. Current toon is an altstart toon with NO ref to the MQ at all. Assassins are swarming over her at level 25 - and have done since she was maybe level 5 or 6. I think it's got to be totally random.

Out of four toons only one has had the DB encounters. And I'm not sure what different I did on him

Strange. VERY strange. I've got at least 12 toons I could play (I deleted some....) - and IIRC, every one of them has had assassins of one sort or another.

I've also never had the Thalmor hit team. Just their random patrols I've killed lots of times.

It's just "odder and odder". Some of the toons I have started the "normal" way - and some I've done the altstart thing with NOTHING in the log.... So it's not even that. The toon I'm running mostly now was an altstart. She didn't do ANYTHING in Riverwood (not even sell stuff) or Whiterun. She headed for Markarth to the stables (from the Lover Stone where I "birthed" her into the world), thence to Solitude by way of carriage. After getting a few levels mutzing around there and in various caves etc. she headed to Riften.... probably level 5 or 6.... and assassins were EVERYWHERE. Which is fine though they don't have much loot. Still levels up her 1-hand and Destruction skills....

It never seems to happen to me until after the Greybeards call for me but I have no proof of anything.